The Arizona champion., 1887-06-25
THE GRAND JURY
Make Strong Report. Some Of tho Cous. ty Onicials Commended and Others
 Censured.

The final report of the grand jury for Yavapai county shows that that body had twenty.nine cases under their consideration. Murder, 3; ac- cessory to murder, 2; assault with in tent to commit murder, I; assault to commit bodily injury, I; grand lar ceny, 3. The body stated that the result of their investigation of assess ments revealed an exceedingly cor rupt state of affairs. The committee which investigated the office of asses. sor was particularly severe in the manner in which assessments have been made. Winch they sum up as follows: Lax methods on the part of the assessors, persistent and often successful endeayors on the part of the taxpayers to shun the assessor and 10 avoid their just proportion of the burdens of the government, fre- quent and, we believe deliberate, misrepresentation on the part of prop erty owners, and ignorance as we'll as carelessness of the requirements of law on the part of large proportion of our population.
 COUNTY ASSESSOR.
 The committee on assessor make a strong report Tn which they say, "our examination into the assessors office had not fairly begun before a condi- tion of affairs was revealed which stank to heaven. The whole busi- ness of the office is described as slip. shod, loose, unbusiness like and un- systematic to the last degree. The report goes on to say, five cannot re- frain from censuring the assessor for palpable direliction in failing to assess the bands of sheep he found in charge of the Tewkesbury father and sons in Tonto Basin. The proper du- ty of the assessor IS to assess" Alter making recommendations to the board of supervisors to raise certain assessments. tsays; "The duties oi the assessor are very heavy and he must needs hire deputies. These are to be paid out of salary of sI,soo a year. It is apparent to any business man that the number of deputies re quired cannot be paid for out of $500 per annum. So that the law and conditions as they stand require the assessor either to perform a phys. ical impossibility or sustain a pecuni- ary loss. A proposition as absurd as 1t IS unjust.
 The ofhce of the board of supervi. sors was found to be conducted in a thorough and business like manner. The report is signed by D. M. Rior- dan, John Hartea, N. O. Murphy and John Kirwagen.
 OTHER OFFICES.
 The offices of county recorder and clerk of the District court are spoken of as in excellent condition. The business being conducted in a prom. pt efficient and satisfactory manner. The same kind of report is made of the sheriff s office and public build. ings. Both the sheriff and his depu- ties are described as dilligent in the discharge of their duties.
 The committee to whom was as. signed the duty of examining the of. fces of the district attorney, probate judge and public administrator, re port very favorable of the two first mentioned officers and of the manner Tn wich the business of their offices is conducted. But the public admins trator. P. Ford, iscensured severe ly for his lax mode of conducting business, The document says: "He keeps no book of record and we find that he has not made the semi-aLnual report to the probate judge required by law. He has volunteered to make reports from memory on those estates now Tn his hands for settlement and as far as we can learn the condition oi these estates as managed by him IS very unsatisfactory"
 The gentlemen who investigated the offices of county treasurer and the county hospital give an excellent re- port of both and they conclude their report on the treasurer's office by say. ing: "We congratulate the county in the selection of MT. Bashford as treas. urer and feel satisfied that he will prove competent and efficient off.